Beebe still questions school funds court decision

LITTLE ROCK  Gov. Mike Beebe says a recent state Supreme Court decision on school funding could upset efforts to ensure equality among the state’s 239 school districts.

Justices said last week that districts that raise more revenue than state-mandated minimums can keep the excess. The governor told members of the Arkansas School Boards Association on Friday that he still doesn’t understand the decision.

Legislators are weighing steps they could take to address the ruling, which impacts 468,000 public school students.

Beebe said the state will follow court orders, but says justices may have incorrectly altered a key element of earlier court decisions.

The decision to let the Eureka Springs and Fountain Lake districts was decided on a 4-3 vote. In a dissent, one justice said the ruling “obliterated” the school funding plan.